Abstract [en]

Background: When a person needs heart transplantation it means that they are suffering from a serious heart failure, and in order to survive they need to undergo surgery for a new heart from a dead person. A lot of the patients don't know what to expect from the surgery and life after the transplantation but their fear of that will not overshadow the chance they have to take somebody's else's heart and begin to live a new life. The transplantation can be a difficult thing to understand and handle without help. It becomes very important for the nurse to have knowledge of the patients' experiences to adjust an individual care in the future.

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe patients' experiences of life after heart transplantation.

Method: A five-step model was used described by Friberg (2012) to contribute to evidence-based nursing with basis in analysis of qualitative research, for the analysis of ten scientific qualitative articles.

Results: The findings that emerged from the analysis shows that they can be applied to the nursing profession. The findings formed three themes: New life, Existential thoughts, and Spiritual aspects, with subthemes.

Conclusion: After the heart transplantation there is no guarantee that the patients wellbeing will improve. It is important that nurses have knowledge in this field so they can care for the patients' and help them to regain their physical and mental health.